He came from Beyond
by CodenameOne
Summary: Legends state that Markus Calaway was not the first human to discover Equestria, but rather Dick Malone. He was not there by choice, however. A mysterious and unknown space-faring entity has destroyed his ship and caused him to crash on Equestria. Now, stranded on the peaceful planet, Malone will embark on one last mission to defeat his old demons. Both mental and physical.
1. Chapter 1: Landfall

**Foreword: hello, and welcome to He Came From Beyond, story three of the 'He Came From' trilogy! This installment is a prequel to the first story, He Came From Space, and will follow a familiar hero as he battles an evil menace as the first human to document the existence of the pony planet.**

**Please note that this is NOT replacing my shipfic Together Forever. If you're a reader of TF I promise it will be updated soon. I'm just posting this for shits and giggles. This story will follow my standard schedule of a single update each and every Sunday at 9:00PM Central Standard Time.**

* * *

**He came from Beyond**

**Chapter One**  
**Landfall  
**

* * *

**December 14th, 2127  
****Uncharted star system  
****Hero of the Human Race Samuel Dick Malone, AKA The Great Crusader**

Dick Malone stepped onto the bridge of his ship, the Private Star Vessel _Sinning Saint_, and sat down in the command chair, looking around the empty bridge. The only inhabitant of his ship was him.

Looking out the viewport he took a look at the only planet in the star system he'd arrived in, taking note that its surface looked quite lush and natural.

_Forests and grass and oceans…sickening. The industrialization of this planet will not come soon enough_ Dick thought, repulsed by the fact that the planet was so green.

_The only beauty in this galaxy is beheld by the gray and black steel of human worlds_ The Great Crusader mused, noting that he only felt happy when a planet like Earth or Noire came into view. Both worlds looked absolutely gray from orbit, a result of every last inch of the surface covered in cities.

The only other color was a mixture of gray and blue, which was only seen on Earth via its oceans, which had long become the universal dumping ground for all wastes.

Seeing Earth's oceans always put a cruel smile on Dick's face, knowing that those who wanted to preserve the planet's oceans and forests had long since been defeated.

_All those hippies, all those tree-hugging fucking cocksuckers that wanted to impede the progress of our species by not wanting us to flatten those forests to make way for our beautiful empire_, _I'm SO glad they no longer exist._

It had been close to twenty years since the last tree on Earth had been chopped down and grinded into whatever it had become, the spot it used to occupy had become a fast food joint.

_Glorious, absolutely fucking glorious. I only wish the oceans could be emptied to make way for more cities_ Dick thought.

Looking back at the green planet before him Dick frowned, having to physically stop himself from vomiting all over the floor.

_Soon…soon this planet will be gray with the steel of buildings, and its skies will be filled with vehicles. Not even its moon will be spared from colonization_ Malone mused, remembering that the same thing had happened to Earth's moon; its white-gray surface turned wholly gray with human cities.

_Nature is revolting_ The Great Crusader finally decided, debating whether or not he should actually land on the planet.

_I SHOULD just tag it for the colonization bureau, and let them deal with the absolutely disgusting things that come with nature. But for some strange reason I am drawn to this planet_ Malone thought, feeling an unusual urge to enter its atmosphere.

He forced himself to not give in to the urge and was about to begin the tagging process when movement at the corner of his eye caused him to look over, seeing the last part of a dark silhouette move past the moon.

"Uh, that can't be good" The Great Crusader stated, his brain registering that the shape was moving with too much purpose to be a rogue asteroid.

"Perhaps this planet is already occupied, and its inhabitants have developed space travel. If that's the case then why is their planet so God-awful fucking ugly? Do they not have cities? Revolting" Dick stated, disgusted at the possibility that a race would work so hard to preserve its planet's natural beauty.

_The ONLY beauty comes from technology! How can anyone NOT understand that_ Malone wondered, beginning to move his ship closer to the moon to investigate the dark shape.

The moon was quite different from Earth's, and it looked to be a bit smaller, a fact which was confirmed by his scanning device.

The dark shape moved again, gliding closer to the surface of the moon before coming to a stop very close to the surface itself.

Malone squinted at the celestial body as his ship drifted even closer, his computer telling him he was seventy five million miles from it.

Practically on its doorstep.

Suddenly there was a pinprick flash from the surface of the moon, followed half a second later by a large projectile slamming into the back of Dick's ship, causing the engines to sputter and fail.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Dick screamed, scrambling to get his ship moving again, to no avail as the engines were completely offline—no power going to them.

"GODDAMNIT!" Malone yelled, working to get some of his ship's weapons online to possibly return fire at whatever shot at him.

He had just gotten his primary weapon, a standard Mass Accelerating Gun, online when another projectile struck his ship, the momentum of which causing his ship to turn away from the moon, preventing him from firing on whatever was launching the projectiles.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" The Great Crusader shouted, utterly pissed at these beings for disabling his ship and preventing him from returning fire.

Malone was furiously striking keys on his command console to try and get the refractive coating generator to put up a defense shield before another round struck his ship and destroyed it.

The Great Crusader looked up and saw the dark shape moving towards his ship, his mind registering that the shape was another space ship as it drifted into the light from the parent star.

"Oh, what the fuck?! Now you're gonna join in on the fun too?" Malone declared, still working to get his shields up.

An orange light built up on the front of the enemy ship until it reached an intensity so bright that it hurt to look at it. The orange light suddenly became a lance of energy that raced out across the stars until it struck the side of Malone's ship, slicing into the three-feet-thick titanium hull like it was a bullet passing through air.

"Bull-fucking-shit!" Dick exclaimed; the energy lance melting his shield generator, leaving him completely helpless.

"Well fuck" The Great Crusader casually said, preparing to exit the bridge to get down to the escape pod reserved for the bridge crew.

His ship bucked as explosions rocked it, caused by various things being set off by the energy lance still cutting through the vessel.

There was a tremor that knocked Dick to the floor, causing him to note that the ship was starting to free float. The Great Crusader looked back at his command console as the computer began to speak.

"Warning, mass of ship has decreased by half. Connection with counter-gravitational forces lost" the computer declared.

Loss of counter-gravitational forces only occurred when the computer detected that it couldn't connect with the engines, which was only possible by severing all physical connections from the computer to the engines. Which, coupled with the fact that the mass of his ship has decreased by half, led Malone to deduce that his ship had been cut in half.

The Great Crusader walked over to his command console and brought up the feed from the bottom fore camera, turning the visual around he saw the back half of ship drifting away before being completely blown apart by the energy lance still being fired by the enemy vessel.

"Damn!" Dick stated, turning to try making it to the escape pod again.

He was too late; the energy lance began to strike against the remains of his ship as the enemy vessel moved in to finish it off.

The energy lance slashed along the back of the remains and caused another explosion to rock the ship, the force of which blasting the last of the ship away toward the unknown planet's gravity well, meaning that the last of the ship would be dragged onto the planet.

Malone immediately decided that he would rather die than be stuck on a planet that actually had trees.

The last remains of his ship finally entered the atmosphere and streaked across the blue sky, soaring high above the luscious green land.

Dick braced himself against the command console and looked out the viewport, grateful that what remained of his ship was oriented the correct way.

The Great Crusader saw a large village blur by as he passed over it, deciding that if he survived the impact he would make his way to the village.

The remains of his ship continued to glide across the sky until it finally made landfall on the surface of the planet, the remains of the craft hit and bounced back into the air momentarily before coming back down and tearing deep gouges into the dirt and smashing through several trees before the momentum finally ceased and the remains of the PSV _Sinning Saint_ came to a stop in what would be its final resting place.

The force of the impact threw Dick Malone to the deck where he cracked his head on the steel floor, the last thing he saw were the trees being crushed by the remains of ship.

_Good_ was the last thing The Great Crusader thought before his world turned black.

* * *

**Five minutes prior  
**

* * *

Twilight Sparkle, lavender pony of the Unicorn variety stepped out of her residence in the town of Ponyville, which sat in the realm of Equestria.

Her lavender coat was accentuated by a dark purple mane and tail, both of which sporting violet and pink streaks. Her cutie mark, a symbol which appeared on all ponies' flanks when they discovered their special talent, was of a large pink star with a smaller white star under it. Both were surrounded by five smaller stars, all of which portraying for all to see that her special talent was magic.

All Unicorns were able to use magic but Twilight Sparkle's entire existence was dedicated to magic and studying her powerful abilities for her mentor; the ruler of the entire land, Princess Celestia.

Or so she thought.

Now Twilight's ultimate goal was to study the magic of friendship, a field in which she had no experience until she moved to the town of Ponyville and met five other ponies who had become her best friends.

She was also friends with a baby dragon by the name of Spike, whom she had hatched as a part of her entrance exam to Princess Celestia's school for gifted Unicorns. Spike had become her number one assistant during her studies and had been the first sentient creature Twilight had ever become friends with, her only other friends were books.

She was knocked out of her thoughts by a tremendous rumbling, originating from somewhere to her left.

The Unicorn looked up in the respective direction and saw a massive object streaking across the Equestrian sky, a huge plume of black smoke trailing behind the object.

Twilight ducked down as the object rocketed overhead, the loud noise of which assaulting the Unicorn's ears and causing dozens of ponies across the town to come out of their homes to investigate.

The object continued to sail along the sky until it disappeared over the horizon, a few seconds later a tremor shook the land.

"Twilight? What the hay was that?" Spike asked, having also stepped out to investigate the noise.

"Send a letter to the Princess; tell her a mysterious object has crashed in from outer space. I'm gonna round up my friends and take a look" Twilight said, the baby dragon immediately getting to work on writing a message.

Twilight could only pray the object wasn't occupied.

* * *

**Legal note: Dick Malone and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Spike the Dragon, and all related characters belong to Hasbro.**


	2. Chapter 2: Extraterrestrial

**Chapter Two**  
**Extraterrestrial**

December 14th, 2128  
Equestrian star system  
Flatlands two miles from Ponyville  
Twilight Sparkle of the Unicorn race

Twilight and her five friends had finally reached the crashed object, all six of them looking at it in curiosity.

Whatever it was there wasn't much left of it; the back of the object was completely open and looking in they could all see that it was an absolute mess inside, with all sorts of debris scattered around what appeared to be a hall and what might have been a cafeteria at one point.

"Should we go in?" one of Twilight's friends, a blue Pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash asked. In addition to her blue coat she sported a namesake rainbow mane and tail, with her cutie mark being a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt emanating from it. It signaled her love of flying.

"Ah'm ready" another friend, an orange earth-pony with a blonde mane and tail named Applejack said. Her cutie mark was of three apples and it portrayed her talent for working an apple farm, which is what she did for a living.

"Yes" Twilight replied, eager to get inside and investigate the remains of the mysterious object.

"Oh, I'd rather not go in. If that's OK with you" another Pegasus, a yellow one with a pink mane and tail, by the name of Fluttershy said. Her cutie mark one of three butterflies, representing her love for taking care of animals.

"OK; Fluttershy, you, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity keep an eye out" Twilight ordered, also speaking to her last two friends.

Pinkie Pie was an appropriately pink earth-pony with a dark pink mane and tail, her cutie mark three balloons; one yellow and two blue. Her special talent was one of partying and making other ponies happy.

Rarity was a Unicorn similar to Twilight but sported an all white coat and an expertly coiffed blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of three diamonds, signifying her natural affinity for fashion.

All three of them nodded and Twilight and her two companions began to venture into the object, proceeding down what remained of the hall until they reached another hall stretching to the left, with a closed door on the right side of the hall.

The trio slowly approached the door and all three pressed their ears up against it, trying to see if they could hear anything from whatever room may lie beyond.

They heard nothing.

Twilight's horn took on a purple glow and the door did the same, the Unicorn trying to force the entrance open. She applied more force to the spell and the door began to slide to the sides, splitting apart where the two sides met.

The Unicorn got the door open wide enough for them to pass through and one by one they entered, all three coming upon a large biped as he lied on the floor.

He was clearly male and quite tall, probably over six feet, and was wearing a T-shirt similar to the one Spike owns with the picture of Rarity on it, although the biped's shirt was a bright red and lacked such a picture.

Covering his two legs were pitch black pants made of some kind of fiber, and he was wearing very peculiar looking black shoes.

Hanging from his shoulders was some kind of harness that sported unusual slots under his right arm and some kind of retention device under his left, the purpose of both were unknown to the ponies.

Twilight took another look at his right arm and noticed that the shoulder of the shirt was draped down, not supported by his arm all the way, this was due to the strange appendage that seemed to be his right arm. Twilight wondered why this arm was very different than his left; it was a deep gray color and had several strange cables snaking through it. A dial was rotating on the arm's elbow.

Lastly the Unicorn came to his face, which was quite rugged looking and featured facial hair called five 'o' clock shadow. There was an angry red inch-long scar on his left cheek, running along his cheekbone in addition to a bloody gash on his forehead. He had a nose that very much different from a normal pony's. His skin was furless and a mild tan and his mane was short and black and very unkempt.

Twilight had never seen or heard of anything like him in her life.

"What is that thing?" Applejack asked, taking a step toward the prone biped, all three were utterly perplexed by this thing.

Twilight reached down and pressed a hoof against his neck, feeling only the faintest of pulses before they ceased; the creature was dead.

"Shoot, he's gone. Let's take him to the Princess, perhaps she can bring him back to life" Twilight said, immediately garnering protests from her two companions.

"Bring him back? Are you crazy?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We have no idea if we'll even be able to trust this thing. And look at him; I've never seen anything like him in my whole life."

"Neither have I, and my books never mentioned anything about him or his species, which means he's from another planet; an extraterrestrial life form" the Unicorn explained.

"A what?" Applejack asked, unfamiliar with the term 'extraterrestrial'.

"He's an alien" Twilight said in simpler terms.

"Even more reason to leave him where he is! Aliens are evil monsters that kill all they see!" Dash declared.

"I'm glad you like reading now, Rainbow, but I think you've been reading too many sci-fi novels" Twilight replied, amused by her friend's misplaced fears.

"I'm taking him to the Princess and that's final; maybe she'll know what to do with him" Twilight stated.

"Ah hope you know what you're doin' Twilight" Applejack declared.

_Me too_ the Unicorn thought.

* * *

**Two days later**

* * *

"How's he doing?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she stepped into the biped's room in Canterlot Hospital, where Princess Luna was watching over the alien creature.

The Princess in question was about as tall as the biped, her eyes would rest perfectly level with his. Luna sported a dark blue coat and a star-filled blue mane and tail, both of which flowed like water via her magic, which was funneled through her foot-and-a-half long horn.

Being an Alicorn Luna also had wings, which were also quite massive. Being a moon Goddess it was Luna's job to literally raise the moon in the evening, which she can easily do with her preposterously high amounts of magic.

Rather appropriately her cutie mark was a crescent moon.

In addition to her physical features the Princess wore a dark-blue crown along with other pieces that signified her royalty; such pieces included sapphire shoes for all four legs and a massive black chest piece that sported an elegant design etched into the surface accompanied by a bright-white crescent moon.

"He is doing fine, my faithful subject. Still comatose, but at least he's alive. The doctors have informed me that he may awaken soon" Luna finally replied, looking down at the biped with curiosity.

"Tell me what you know about this gentle…alien" Luna said, searching for the right word as calling him a 'gentlecolt' would be obviously incorrect.

"Well the Elements and I found him on the object that crashed in; it appears that he was the owner of whatever the object used to be. He died a few moments after we found him. He didn't see us, but he still may be a little afraid when he wakes up. Everything else there is to know about him you can clearly see. Uh, I mean…I'm not trying to be disrespectful or offensive or anything I just…" Twilight said, she was cut off when Luna raised her hoof.

"I understand, Twilight Sparkle. You said nothing disrespectful" the Princess assured her student.

"I'm still wondering about his right arm; it looks so much stranger than his left" Twilight said, scrutinizing the right side limb.

"It is artificial, my faithful subject" Luna replied.

"So it's a fake?" Twilight inquired, curious as to why he would have a fake arm.

"Not fake; artificial. It seems his original arm was lost and this merely serves as a replacement" Princess Luna explained.

"I see" Twilight said, looking away from the Princess to gaze upon the biped once again.

The Unicorn took notice of the harness the biped was still wearing, eyeing the strange device held within the holder under his left arm.

"I still wonder what that thing in that holder under his arm is" Twilight stated, looking up at the Princess to see if she might know what it is.

"I haven't the slightest idea, Twilight Sparkle, but I fear it may be dangerous" Luna replied, also looking at the device.

The biped suddenly began to stir.

"Princess, he's starting to wake up" Twilight exclaimed excitedly, gesturing at the bipedal alien. Luna stood and approached the bed the alien was lying on.

"Hrmm. Mmm. Tiff…any" the biped whispered as his head lulled a little before he rolled onto his side.

He had awoken from his coma straight into normal sleep.

"Oh, I thought he was finally going to awake. Shame" Luna declared dejectedly, sitting back down on her chair.

"I wonder what he meant by 'Tiff-any'" Twilight said, wondering if there were more of his species.

"It sounds like a name. Of whom I can not be certain, of course" the Princess stated.

Twilight nodded and stood from her own chair, turning to face Princess Luna. "I'm going downstairs for some fresh air. If that's alright with you, Princess" Twilight said.

"Of course, Twilight, go right ahead. I will remain with the biped" Luna responded.

"Are you gonna be OK with being with him by yourself? I mean…that's not to say I think you're defenseless I'm just—" Twilight was cut off once again by Luna raising a hoof, a bemused smile on her face.

"I will be fine, my faithful subject" the Princess assured the lavender Unicorn.

Twilight nodded and proceeded throughout the hospital until she reached the ground floor, stepping outside into the cool night air.

Based on what a clock in the lobby told her it was around 9:00 PM.

The Unicorn breathed the crisp, clean, air in deeply before exhaling, looking around the parking lot that was for the chariots owned by the doctors.

Sparkle looked up at the hospital, her eyes searching for the light visible through the window of the biped's room.

She found it just as the window shattered from a bipedal figure leaping through it followed by a fireball and the sound of the explosion with it; he dropped four stories before landing harmlessly in a crouch on the pavement, immediately sprinting off into the city of Canterlot.

Concerned for the Princess's safety Twilight sprinted back through the hospital, quickly reaching the biped's room to find it was an absolute mess; the monitoring equipment on the far side completely obliterated with the remains of a large CO2 cylinder scattered about.

The Princess was completely unharmed.

"What happened?" Twilight asked, still concerned about Luna and the biped, who was now missing somewhere in Canterlot.

"I'm not sure; one second everything was calm. The next second he had awoken, pulled an L-shaped device from the holder under his arm, pointed it at the cylinder, and…it just exploded. When the fireball dissipated the window was shattered and the biped was gone!" Luna said, seemingly shaken by the whole ordeal.

"We must find him, Princess!" Twilight exclaimed.

"I agree wholeheartedly, my loyal subject" the moon Goddess replied.

* * *

Dick Malone hadn't stopped running. For anything. He kept moving as his feet carried him deeper into the strange city.

_That was an Alicorn…a fucking Alicorn! Alicorns don't exist. Not even Unicorns or Pegasi exist. And yet, there it was, in the motherfucking flesh_ the Great Crusader thought.

_OK Dick, think; your ship got shot down, and you crashed here. Question is; where is here_ Malone wondered, looking around the dark alleyway he had finally stopped in.

"I think the better question is 'who shot down my ship?', but I digress" he said, sitting down against the wall of a building the alley was behind.

_These alleys are preposterously clean. This whole fucking city seems too clean. What is this place?_ The Great Crusader wondered.

He stood and approached the edge of the alley, looking out into the streets beyond. The moon's radiant light was still shining down upon the surface of this planet.

_I don't know who you are, or if you're even human, but I'm going to find a way to reach you. And when I do you will all pay_ Malone mused, promising death for those who stranded him on this disgusting planet.

The Great Crusader thought about the village he had passed over when his ship was coming down, and decided to visit it as well as the remains of his ship.

"I need answers for why this planet is what it is, and I feel that village is my best lead" Dick said, preparing to move out and find a way to the crash site and the village.

_At least I'm in a city, though it's unlikely that I'll find a fucking hot-dog stand. This city looks like something out of a little girl's TV show_ Malone thought, upset that the city he was in was so clean and non-industrial.

"Let's get out of here" Dick declared, moving out of the alley and beginning his trek through the city, sticking to the shadows and using his superb stealth skills to avoid detection from the local residents still out and about.

_OK, so far I've seen an Alicorn, and all the residents I've seen from the shadows were Unicorns. What the fuck is this place_ The Great Crusader mused.

Dick quickly made it to the edge of the city and looked down, seeing that the city he was in was easily a mile above the surface; it was built onto the side of a mountain.

_Reminds me of that sports arena built onto the side of Mt. Everest back on Earth. That shit is fucking crazy._

The Great Crusader vaulted over the railing and began free-falling to the surface, knowing that all the artificial enhancements that had been applied to him and most of humanity would allow him to survive the impact.

As he neared the ground Malone rolled out of the free-fall and landed feet first on the ground, his knees absorbing the shock of the impact.

_Looks like that village is several miles from here. Based on the position of the moon I can safely say that it is close to ten, meaning I will reach the village in two hours, depending on my speed and the terrain_ Dick thought.

Suddenly there was the crack of thunder followed by the flash of lightning, the rain beginning to fall almost immediately after.

"Time to go" Malone whispered, beginning the long trek to the village so very far away.

* * *

The Great Crusader Dick Malone had reached the village in exactly the time he proposed he would; two hours, slowing his jog to a light walk as he entered the town proper, the first thing he noticed was a home carved out of the inside of a massive tree.

_That's impossible; the tree would die without any internals. What is this place?_ Dick wondered, looking around the dark village as the rain continued to fall; the only light came from firefly lanterns and the occasional strike of lightning.

_Firefly lanterns? What the fuck?_

Malone continued on his way through the village, not interested in investigating the town until he had retrieved all he needed from the wreckage of his ship.

The town was large and long, but featured so many back alleys it would give Earth a run for its money, allowing The Great Crusader to make his way through without the risk of being seen, which was even lower given the time.

Dick made it to the other end of the village and continued to the remains of his ship, seeing that the entire area around it was cordoned off and had large male Unicorns in fancy armor patrolling the perimeter they had set up around it.

_Hm, as if they'll ever see me_ Malone thought as he stealthily snuck past them and entered the wreckage for the last time, stepping onto the bridge and approaching a weapons locker on the far left side.

Popping it open Dick looked over the admittedly limited selection, though he guessed he should be grateful for what he had.

The Great Crusader pulled out one of the only two weapons in the locker, a Saritch 308.

The Saritch was a mid-sized designated marksman bullpup rifle that fired a 7.62x51mm NATO round from a 20 round magazine. The weapon was a Russian design meant for Special Operations usage and was utilized by the soldiers of Earth's SPace Expeditionary Reconnaissance Military.

The Saritch in Malone's hands was customized with a Trijicon Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight featuring 3x zoom.

"Beautiful" Dick lamented, slinging the Saritch over his shoulder and pocketing several magazines. The Great Crusader snatched up a suppressor for it before digging back into the locker to pull out the other weapon.

_This might come in handy_ Malone thought, hoisting the massive weapon up and checking it over.

It was a Milkor MGL-140 grenade launcher, a semi-auto grenade launcher which held six 40mm grenades in a revolver-style cylinder. It could bring a world of hurt on any opposition.

There were only six grenades for it.

The Great Crusader slipped a bandolier for the grenades around his waist and dug into the locker one last time to get the last of his supplies; a couple more magazines and a speed-loader for the Family Heirloom, as well a standard pair of Binoc brand binoculars.

The Family Heirloom was a silver Colt Python with black polymer grips. Engraved on the left side of the barrel were the words _For my son, Dick. Stay strong in the face of adversity, and portray great honor for the Malone name._

Dick dumped the speed-loaders for the Python in a pouch and made sure it was secured tightly in his under-shoulder holster.

He also made sure to attach the suppressor to his Saritch before heading back outside into the rain, wondering if he should eliminate the Unicorn soldiers guarding the wreck.

_As disturbing as their existence is they may not even be real, none of this may be real. But if they are then I'm gonna need all the help I can get to battle the assholes that shot my ship down_ Dick mused, deciding not to kill the Unicorns unless they attacked him first.

_Time to get back to that village_ The Great Crusader thought, sneaking past the guards once again and making his way back to the town he passed through a while ago, looking for a suitable shelter to sleep in for the night.

His search brought him to a light copse of trees some distance away from an apple farm, and soon brought him to what appeared to be a tree house, obviously meant for little girls based on its appearance.

"Beats the rain, but just barely" Malone growled, ascending the ramp to the entrance to the tree house and stepping inside, stowing his stuff before lying down on the hardwood floor and attempting to get some sleep.

It didn't take long.

* * *

Dick Malone awoke in the morning to find the bright sun shining down through a window onto his face.

"Ahh, what the fuck?!" The Great Crusader exclaimed before he remembered that he was stuck on a planet that still had a visible sun.

"Fuck. I can NOT wait for this planet to be covered in dark clouds, that way the revolting sunlight can never shine down" Malone said, slowly standing and grabbing his stuff off the treehouse floor.

The Great Crusader jumped down from the treehouse balcony and landed directly in front of three small equines; one Unicorn, one Pegasus, and one earth-pony. All three were of a variety of colors.

"This place is fucking with me still" Dick said as he pushed past the three equines, wondering if this world was populated by anything other than mystical equines.

_Pegasi and Unicorns and fucking Alicorns; this place is ridiculous. Oh well, at least they're not fucking talking_ Malone thought, making his way closer to the town in search of the tree-turned-house.

Malone reached the hollowed out tree and knocked on the door, waiting for the inhabitants to respond.

While he waited Dick looked around, seeing that multiple equines were looking at him in curiosity and fear.

The door to the tree opened to reveal absolutely nothing with the exception of a bookcase on the far wall and a lime-green couch in the middle of the foyer.

_Lime-green…reminds me of the recliner I used to own... And Tiffany_ Dick thought as he prepared to step into the hollow tree to see if he could find the inhabitants.

As he stepped forward his legs bumped into something, looking down The Great Crusader's eyes came upon those of a small reptile, what appeared to be a baby dragon based on classical European dragons.

"What" Dick declared as he looked down at the dragon, who was staring at him as if he was a terrible monster come to eat them all.

The dragon looked over his shoulder but kept his eyes trained on Malone, opening his mouth and yelling out "Twilight!" before refocusing complete attention on The Great Crusader.

"Yes, Spi—oh my goodness, the alien!" a female voice exclaimed, prompting Malone to look up to see a lavender Unicorn approaching him from inside the hollow tree.

The Unicorn motioned for the dragon to step aside as she came even closer to Dick Malone, looking him over as if to confirm something.

"Yes, you are indeed the alien my friends and I found on that strange object. We've been wondering where you were at" the Unicorn said.

The alien looked around in confusion and scratched the back of his neck, still wondering if any of this was actually real.

"Can you talk?" the Unicorn inquired, bringing his thoughts and attention back to her and her dragon companion.

The alien raised his right hand and opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped, shaking his head and resting his mouth on his fist in thought before switching to resting his cheek in the palm of the hand.

Twilight and Spike were thoroughly confused, wondering if that's how the alien communicated.

Finally the alien dropped his arm to his side and opened his mouth once again. "Excuse me while I go reclaim my fucking sanity" the alien exclaimed, his deep voice rumbling and frightening the Unicorn with how malicious it sounded.

"So you CAN talk. Good. I need to bring you to the Princesses" the Unicorn declared, excited for learning about the alien.

"Hey, wait a minute; I'm not fucking going anywhere until you answer some questions" Dick exclaimed.

"What do you want to know?" the Unicorn inquired.

"Names; you, the dragon, the Alicorn that was in my hospital room, and this place" Malone answered, still in contempt about this planet's inhabitants.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, my dragon assistant here is Spike. The one that was in your hospital room was Luna, a _princess_, so I would appreciate it if you could show some respect. The name of this land is Equestria" the lavender Unicorn explained.

"Good. Word of advice, though; don't EVER tell me to outright respect something. I'll respect it if it _earns_ my respect" Malone stated.

"She is a Princess, one of the two that rule our land. You should already respect her!" Twilight said, dissatisfied that the first alien they'd ever made contact with was a huge jerk.

"If she and the other can prove themselves to be strong leaders then I will respect them. Until then I wouldn't care about them even if they were the creators of the fucking universe. They don't mean fucking shit to me" Dick declared.

"You keep saying that 'fucking' word and I don't know what it means but it doesn't sound very nice; please stop using it" Twilight requested.

"Fuck you" The Great Crusader responded.

"I asked nicely, and I'm only asking once" the Unicorn stated, giving the alien a very angry look.

"Are you threatening me? That is NOT a good idea" Dick exclaimed, growing irritated with this Unicorn for telling him who to respect and what not to say.

"Oh yeah? Why?" Twilight asked, curious to see how tough this alien thought he is. If he proved to be a problem then Sparkle was sure Rainbow Dash could take care of him.

"I don't take threats lightly, and I WILL kill you if you prove to be a threat" Malone assured her. Somehow his look and the things strapped to his body convinced the Unicorn that he wasn't screwing around.

"I am no threat to you. Just…look, you NEED to come with me to see the Princesses" Twilight said.

"Fine, I'll come with you to see your rulers. Just don't ask me to fucking bow before them or I will lose my shit" The Great Crusader stated.

"OK, let me just round up my friends and we'll all go see the Princesses" Twilight said, motioning for Spike to send letters to all five of her friends and a letter to the Princess to send a chariot for all of them.

* * *

All five of Twilight's friends had come as soon as they could and had boarded the elongated chariot that had been sent for them. The six equines clustered around the front while Dick Malone sat at the back, looking down at the landscape below.

"He's so tall and frightening, and his right arm scares me" Fluttershy said, looking at the alien in fear.

"His appearance is so plain, and his face so rugged. It is obvious nopony ever taught him about fashion and looking good, and that arm is hideous" Rarity exclaimed.

"I just hope he knows how to party!" Pinkie declared.

"Shoot, he looks all fancy and what-not. I bet he's never worked a day in his life" Applejack stated.

"He doesn't look all that tough either, I bet I could take him on" Rainbow Dash announced, just loud enough for the alien to hear. She was hoping to provoke him.

"Is that a challenge?" the deep voice of the alien was suddenly next to Dash's ears, causing her to yelp and fumble as she moved away from the alien, who had somehow crept up on her without a sound.

"Wha-what?" Dash said, still surprised at the alien's amazing stealth abilities.

"Is. That. A. Challenge" the alien asked again, enunciating his words clearly so the Pegasus would understand.

Dash righted herself and put on her usual display of confidence. "As a matter of fact it is!" the Pegasus declared. "You too chicken to accept?"

The alien smirked, a devious smirk that almost scared Rainbow. "Time, and place" he requested, eager to trump this obviously insecure Pegasus.

_Her eagerness to challenge me to a fight is a façade to hide her insecurity of losing the spotlight and having attention directed away from her; she feels threatened and fears that I may be better than her in some way and wants to beat me in a fight to prove to her friends that she's the toughest. It is truly sad and pathetic…I hope the referee doesn't say I can't kill her_ Dick thought, looking forward to this sparring session with the Pegasus.

"When we get back to Ponyville" Dash finally said.

"Sounds good to me. Bring your best, my dear" Malone stated.

"Yeah, same for you" Dash replied.

"All fights aside, I believe I have forgotten to introduce you to my friends. They are Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie" Twilight said, pointing to the respective pony when she said a name.

"Don't bother with trivial bullshit; I'm not staying on this planet long. Once I find a way out of here I'm leaving as fast as possible" The Great Crusader declared.

"Scared you might lose our fight?" Dash taunted, nearly causing Dick to strike her simply for what she was doing.

_Now you're resorting to petty taunts? You are a pitiful creature and I can NOT wait to put you in your place. Though knowing people like you you'll just find something else to call me out on in a pathetic attempt to keep your status of 'best around'_ Malone thought.

"Don't worry, I won't leave until I get a chance to spar with you" The Great Crusader finally replied.

"Anywaaaay, why don't you tell us your name?" Twilight asked, changing the subject to ease the tension hovering thick in the air as it radiated off of Rainbow Dash and the alien.

"If it's necessary for you all to know I am Dick Malone, also known as The Great Crusader and regarded by most as the Hero of the Human Race" the alien explained, introducing himself and telling the equines his titles.

"You're a hero? What'd you do, save a stroller from rolling off a cliff or something like that?" Dash asked, secretly hoping that the alien hadn't done anything more heroic than the things she's done.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Saving occupied strollers from rolling off cliffs is enough to qualify as a hero here? If that's all you need to qualify for 'hero' then I must be a fucking Demi-God: I saved 200 million people from death six times, and my entire species once" Dick answered, surprising all six of the equines sitting in the chariot.

"How?" Rainbow asked, incredulous but also quite curious about the alien's escapades.

"I stopped a man of my species known only as Codename: Evil; his personal mission was to kill me and all I knew. Then he decided he was going to destroy my home country of Canada. Then he got it in his head that he'd completely eradicate all on Earth so the human race could start over" Dick answered.

"So yes, hick, I have worked more than my fair share of days in my life" the human exclaimed, eyeing Applejack.

"What did you just call me?" the farm pony asked menacingly, to which Malone responded with nonchalance.

"So anyway how did you stop this evil man? You obviously didn't use the Elements of Harmony" Twilight said, curious as to how an evil entity could be defeated without the use of the Elements.

"No, I didn't; I just killed him" The Great Crusader replied, earning shocked gasps from all six of them.

"You're a…murderer?" Rainbow Dash inquired, feeling less sure of her ability to win in a fight against the alien.

"It was for the good of my species as a whole and all kills I have achieved were in the act of self-defense" Dick answered, still receiving fearful looks from all six of them.

"You don't have to approve of my methods but don't question my motives; Evil was a despicable person and I made the galaxy safer by killing him" Malone stated, knowing what they were most likely thinking.

"But do not worry; I won't kill any of you unless you become hostile" The Great Crusader specified, referring to their entire species when he said he wouldn't kill any of them.

"Well that's good to know" Twilight said, mentally sighing in relief.

Rainbow Dash chose this opportunity to challenge the alien again. "Wait, you want us to trust you when you've murdered probably hundreds of your people? Who's to say you won't kill any of us too?" the Pegasus asked.

"I already told you that you don't have to approve of my methods but do NOT question my motives; I kept my species safe by killing a few thousand of them. These people wanted to murder innocent men, women, and children; wanted Codename: Evil to succeed in the destruction of America and our species as a whole. I'm sure none of you want to do that" Malone answered.

"Don't want me to kill you? Don't become hostile and try to destroy the world. It's as simple as that" The Great Crusader finished.

"I'm pretty sure we can manage that, girls" Twilight said as the chariot arrived in Canterlot, coming to a halt just outside the main gate of Canterlot Tower.

"Here we are" Twilight exclaimed as her friends and her prepared to step out to join Dick Malone, who had already disembarked from the chariot and was looking around the area.

The group approached the main gate of Canterlot Tower where a duo of Royal Guards stood, doing as their title implied; guarding the gate.

The guards stuck their wings out as the group approached. "Halt!" they exclaimed in unison.

Twilight cleared her throat and took another step towards them. "Greetings, I am Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia has requested that my friends, this alien, and I be permitted to see her" the lavender Unicorn said.

"Can you confirm that you are indeed Twilight Sparkle?" one of the guards asked, his voice commanding and forceful.

"In the beginning there was darkness, and from the darkness came a voice, and it said 'let there be light.' When the light came she was illuminated, and when the darkness returned there was another. Time passed, and the two realized that there must be a middle ground, a time of the day between light and dark, a twilight. And a Sparkle was chosen for such" the lavender Unicorn said, reciting the password that would permit her and her friends entry.

The guards folded their wings and the gates began to open, taking on a blue glow as a nearby Unicorn guard opened them. "Welcome back to Canterlot Twilight Sparkle, her majesty Princess Celestia is waiting for you and one bipedal alien" one of the Pegasus guards declared.

"Thank you" Twilight said, the group passed through the gate and entered the main foyer of Canterlot Tower, the staircase where Celestia greeted her subjects during the Grand Galloping Gala standing before them.

They were all about to step forward when a blinding flash filled their vision, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna appearing on the landing the stairs led to.

Twilight looked over and saw Dick Malone crouching on the floor with a large device in his hands, pressed up against his shoulder. The device had some kind of cylinder extending from the front and a tube bolted to the top.

It looked dangerous.

Malone looked around the room before he recognized the dark one as the Alicorn that was in his hospital room, easing his apprehension as he realized the two that had appeared were friendly.

Dick stood and slung the device over his back, approaching the staircase and ascending to the landing the two Alicorns were standing on.

The Great Crusader recognized the dark one but the white one was a different story, being a little taller than the dark one but still had her face level with Malone's.

Being an Alicorn the white one had wings and a horn, both of which quite large. It seemed she was a sun Goddess.

Rather appropriately her cutie mark was a sun.

In addition to her physical features the Princess wore a gold crown along with other pieces that signified her royalty; such pieces included gold shoes for all four legs and a massive gold chest piece that sported an elegant design etched into the surface accompanied by a purple gem.

"Greetings, I am Princess Celestia, the benevolent leader of this peaceful land. My sister here is Princess Luna" the white one said, introducing herself and the dark one.

"The Great Crusader Dick Malone, Hero of the Human Race" the man named and titled such replied.

"Welcome to Equestria, Mr. Malone" Celestia stated.

"Yeah, I'm fucking honored. We need to discuss some very important things" The Great Crusader responded.

"Indeed we do. Follow me" Celestia requested, motioning for all of them to follow her as they entered a large ballroom, Twilight and her friends recognizing it as the main room of the Grand Galloping Gala.

"I will keep it short; I want off this planet, I want to leave as soon as reasonably possible. There are some people I need to find" Dick said.

"I see. Do you mind telling us what the object was that Twilight Sparkle and her friends found you on?" Celestia requested.

"My space-ship, or rather the remains of it. I had arrived in the system your planet occupies and was subsequently attacked and most of my ship destroyed by an unknown enemy" Malone explained.

"Oh my. Were these unknown beings also in space-ships?" Celestia inquired.

"I only saw one. The initial shot that disabled my ship came from _your_ moon" Dick exclaimed, accusing them of being the ones that had attacked him.

"That can't be possible" Princess Luna declared, greatly offended that unknown creatures had landed on her moon and were attacking other sentient creatures from it.

"That is what happened. Surprised? You shouldn't be" The Great Crusader said.

"What are you trying to say?" Luna asked.

"He is implying that we are the ones that shot down his ship. But I assure you we have done no such thing" Celestia stated.

"I have no reason to trust or believe you. Prove to me that you were not the ones that attacked me by helping me leave this planet" Malone said.

"What do you propose we do? We have not yet developed space travel of our own" Luna replied.

"Just help me get to your moon, I'll find my own ship when I get there"

"We can't! Don't you understand we have no space travel?" Twilight suddenly said, prompting Dick to turn around and glare at her.

"Then find a way to _make_ space travel you fucking primitive savages!" the human exclaimed.

Dash decided that she's had enough of the human and flew up to his face. "What did you call us?" the Pegasus asked.

"I called you primitive savages, now sit down before I put you down, bitch" The Great Crusader requested, he was only going to give her one chance to keep her life.

"You know what? You're a jerk. I don't who you think you are, and I don't know why you're here, but you're a major jerk" Rainbow declared.

"Duly noted. Now get the fuck out of my face" Dick requested again.

"Or what?" the Pegasus inquired.

"Or I will murder you in cold blood" The Great Crusader growled, he was within an inch of making good on his threat.

"You wouldn't have the guts to kill me" Dash mocked, earning an evil smirk from the human.

"Don't tempt me" Dick growled.

"Enough! Rainbow Dash, stand down! I do not wish for you to be the catalyst for a war between our two species" Celestia declared, taking a step toward the human and forcing Dash to lower herself to the floor.

"Come find me when you've found a way to get to your moon, I'll be in the forest next to Twilight's village" Malone stated as he walked for the door leading back outside.

The group watched him leave before Celestia and Luna turned back to the Elements. "I do hope he doesn't plan on staying in the Everfree forest; it's not safe in there" Luna said.

"What do we do, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"I had hoped that first contact with an alien species would've gone better than that; I fear that he would not hesitate to kill any of us. I want you all to keep a very close eye on him; he may be dangerous to all. In the meantime my sister and I will find a way to our moon" Celestia stated, motioning for them to leave.

"Twilight, stay. The rest of you may go" the sun Princess declared.

When the others had left and the doors sealed Celestia looked back down upon her star student, who was glancing back and forth between the two Goddesses.

"He is dangerous, I can already tell" Luna commented before Celestia began her official statement.

"He is violent and possibly evil; all of Equestria may be in danger with him here. Your assignment is the toughest one you will ever endure; apply all you know of the magic of friendship to turn him from a violent monster to a friendly alien" Celestia said.

"I understand, Princess" Twilight replied, turning to leave the room and join her friends out in the foyer.

"What did the princess want?" Dash asked, hovering a foot off the floor.

"I'll tell you later" Twilight answered, the six of them stepping outside and looking around the area.

"There's no way that Dick has made it back to Ponyville yet" Applejack said.

"Agreed; he must still be here in Canterlot somewhere. Let's find him" Twilight declared, prepared to search all across the city to find the bipedal alien.

* * *

**A/N: this chapter is long as hell. I'm sure you will appreciate that.  
**

* * *

Legal note: Dick Malone and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.


	3. Chapter 3: Hero to all, villain to all

**Chapter Three**  
**Hero to all. Villain to all**

_December 14th, 2128_  
_Equestrian star system (unlisted)_  
_Royal city of Canterlot_  
_Hero of the Human Race Dick Malone, AKA The Great Crusader_

Dick Malone stared out at the horizon as the sun was slowly lowering, casting an orange glow and long shadows across the land.

The shadows were cast by trees.

_FUCK, this planet is ugly! If only I could get a message to the UN space council…_ Malone thought, looking up at the sky.

_Wait! The remains of my ship! The main console has backup power from an internal battery, I could then send a message to the space council telling them of this planet's location and requesting that military scout ships be sent here_ Dick mused triumphantly, vaulting over the balcony in front of him.

As he vaulted over the railing he heard Twilight yell "NOOOO!" and the rush of hooves galloping for the railing.

It seemed Twilight and her friends thought the human was killing himself.

_They may very well want me dead when they realize what I'm planning. They'll learn, though. The human colonization and influence on this planet will be for the benefit of all its inhabitants. So they'll lose all the trees and the grass, and the sun will never shine upon the surface, but who fucking cares? They'll have gun shops with a fast food drive-through attached_ Dick thought, landing on the ground in a crouch. The velocity he had been at would've killed most individuals, but the Crusader had augmentations done specially for him when he joined SpERM.

The Great Crusader looked up at Canterlot and brought up his binoculars, seeing that Twilight and her friends were staring down in horror.

They couldn't see the human.

_Sayonara, girls. By next week all of your world will be filled with humans…better enjoy the trees while you still can_ Malone mused.

* * *

_December 15th, 2128_  
_Equestrian star system (unlisted)_  
_Forest several miles north of Ponyville_  
_Hero of the Human Race Dick Malone, AKA The Great Crusader_

Dick Malone had reached the remains of his vessel and noticed that the guards were no longer guarding the vessel, seemingly having been ordered to leave it alone for now.

_Makes my life easier_ Dick thought, stepping into the remains and proceeding down what's left of the corridor to the bridge.

The Great Crusader reached and activated his console, waiting for it to draw power from the reserve battery to allow him to establish communications.

"Comm drives, orbital link, signal bouncing off multiple relays…fuck, why can't any of this ever be easy?" Malone wondered aloud, typing in the necessary commands to open a comm link with the space council.

The human pressed the final key and the system warmed to life, the signal immediately shooting off to reach UN space.

Suddenly the comm system died out, the whirring ceased and the whole console went dark.

"Odd, that wasn't supposed to happen" Malone declared, confused as to why the console did that.

A quick check revealed that the signal was being jammed by an outside source, most likely by those that were on the planet's moon.

"Fucking bastards" Dick said, turning away from the console and stepping outside where he found Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, you're alive?! But how? We all saw you jump off Canterlot!" the Unicorn exclaimed.

"What are you doing out here?" the Great Crusader asked, stepping down out of the remains of his ship and beginning to walk back to Ponyville along with Twilight.

"You didn't answer my question" Sparkle stated.

"And you didn't answer mine" the human retorted, already annoyed by this conversation.

"I asked first" Twilight protested.

"Mine was more important."

"I don't think so; asking how someone survived a two mile drop without any kind of way to slow down takes more precedence over the question you asked" Twilight answered smugly.

"Look just answer my fucking question or shut the fuck up because I'm SICK of talking to you!" Dick Malone yelled, stopping in his tracks and looking Twilight dead in the eyes.

"I-I..." Twilight stuttered, shocked by the sudden outburst and the flames of fury she could see within the human's eyes. Something else she saw telling her he seemed to believe that talking to Twilight was utterly beneath him.

The Unicorn swallowed back tears and bolstered her resolve, looking back into Dick's eyes and saying "I was just coming out here to see if I could find out why you jumped off Canterlot, that's all."

"Very good; was that so Goddamned hard?" Malone inquired, continuing to walk back to Ponyville.

"What is up with your attitude you jerk?!" Twilight blurted out, nearly covering her mouth with a hoof afterwards; she was almost afraid of the response she would receive from the human.

Dick clenched his fists tight and looked over his shoulder back at Twilight, very seriously contemplating killing her.

Deciding not to hurt her Dick proceeded on his way, saying nothing at all.

"Look, I'm sorry, I just-"

"If you know what's good for you you'll shut your fucking mouth and never speak to me again" the Great Crusader growled, not even bothering to look at Twilight when he spoke.

Twilight wasn't sure if the human would actually hurt her but decided she would be better safe than sorry and took his advice to heart, refraining from speaking the rest of the way to Ponyville.

When they arrived Dick stopped and turned to face her, adjusting the strap for one of the things attached to his back.

"Go on, go back to your fucking tree home that defies the laws of nature. Once you've discovered space travel come find me in the apple orchard behind that farm over there" Malone said, gesturing to Sweet Apple Acres.

As he turned and walked away Dick Malone declared "have a nice Goddamned day", his malicious voice heavily dripping with sarcasm.

Once inside the apple orchard Dick Malone had found the treehouse that he had slept in earlier, which seemed to belong to little girls judging by its outer and inner decor.

Deducing to not enter the treehouse the Great Crusader sat outside it as he disassembled and cleaned his weapons, taking extra time to make sure the Family Heirloom was polished to a nice shine and the internals sparkling before he greased them up.

His job complete Malone checked his silver Rolex, seeing that he had spent around two hours cleaning the weapons.

Mildly annoyed the human re-assembled the guns and returned them to their proper positions on his back and in his holster, making sure they were properly secured before stretching out as he sat on the grass.

The next order of business was running some maintenance on his robotic right arm, which he was sure the ponies had messed with while he was unconscious in the hospital.

Rotating the appendage Malone could hear the servos whine as he spun the arm at the shoulder and extended and retracted the arm at the elbow, flexing all five of the digits on its hand to make sure they worked properly. The whine of the servos at all joints affirmed him that the arm was still in perfect order.

Robotic arms had come a long way from the silicone prosthetics of the 21st century; science had developed robotic arms to the point that they would feel almost exactly like a natural arm, with thousands of electric cables simulating nerve endings and advanced wiring hooked directly to his brain granting him full control over the arm.

With some extra money invested in the arm like titanium plating and kevlar covering for the cables in the arm the entire appendage felt exactly like the original arm he had lost when ISS II had exploded just as he escaped from it many years ago.

_Fucking Codename: Evil_ the Great Crusader lamented mentally.

Rustling in the bushes outside the treehouse knocked the human from his musings and prompted him to pull out the Family Heirloom and slowly approach the source of the noise.

Roughly parting the branches of the bush revealed three little fillies hunkered down, shaking in fear as they stared up at the human with wide eyes.

"Hmm" Dick growled, releasing the branches and walking away.

_Too many Goddamn locals...it's like they're following me just to be assholes_ the human mused as he proceeded to a nearby hill that overlooked the village.

_Gotta learn the name of this primitive shithole_ Dick thought, crouching down and looking down at the town through his Binocs.

As he set his Binocs down Dick realized he was in the middle of the one thing he hated the most; being alone.

Being alone was bad news for the Great Crusader, not because he was afraid of being alone but because when he was alone and not working to stop Evil he always began to think, and his thoughts were never pleasant for him when he was alone.

_"What do you think? The standard black is nice, but the tan one would camouflage with the desert better"_ the voice of Malone's late wife, Tiffany, said.

_Damn it, I really don't want to think about her right now_ Dick thought, sighing and rubbing his head with his arm.

_"Man, this guy's such a dick...no offense, Dick"_ the voice of Malone's best friend, Mark Calaway, echoed, the Great Crusader remembering his friend had said that during the very first hunt for Codename: Evil.

_All my friends and loved ones, either gone or dead... Tiffany, Mark, my brother and sister... The only one left alive of the bunch is Mark, and I haven't seen him in years_ Dick mused.

_I just wish it would end... I've been fighting for close to a hundred years, and almost all of that has been against Evil. Now that he's dead I thought I could retire, but no, I had to fucking stumble across this place and get shot down by assholes on the moon. Maybe the ones on the moon that shot me down are actually the inhabitants of this planet, and they're just lying to me._

The sound of grass being crushed beneath falling feet prompted the human to whip around and draw his Saritch; grabbing it by the sling the weapon soared horizontally until the sling pulled taut and the weapon began to be drawn downward by gravity, at which point Dick released the sling and the DMR was suspended in the air for a second before the human snatched it up by the pistol grip and dropped the front-end into his left hand, shouldering the weapon and taking aim at the being that had snuck up on him.

It was the three little ponies that had been hiding in the bush, who had all apparently followed him out of curiosity, though the only emotion on their faces right now was fear.

"God damn it, get the fuck out of here you little shits. I don't want you here" the Great Crusader told them, standing and walking away as the fillies followed.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? Get out of here" Malone commanded once again.

"W-what are you?" the orange one asked, her purple eyes betraying her curiosity.

"It doesn't matter, just leave me alone..." the human stated, this time his voice containing a hint of sorrow; the orange one's voice reminded him of Tiffany's voice when she was a teenager.

As he went down the hill Dick came across some kind of trench or gorge, which prevented him from going further. In the gorge there were tunnels in the cliff faces which looked like they had been cut out by some kind of creature so it could live in them.

Looking around the human saw just how weird this place was; talking ponies of mystical varieties, strange tunnels for unknown creatures, strange architect and structural design: the village was more like a small city and the city on the mountain was like something out of a Disney movie, and overall a strange and disturbing place.

Sudden and loud footsteps right behind him caused Malone to spin and smash the butt of the Saritch's stock into the side of the orange filly's face, producing a loud crack as her jaw dislocated and snapped in one place. The force of the blow knocked her out and dropped her to the ground.

"HAY! Why did you do that?!" the yellow filly screamed in anger, stamping her hoof on the ground and staring at the human in fury.

"I already told you to leave me alone, three fucking times actually, and none of you obviously got the fucking hint! Maybe now you'll listen! **LEAVE!**" Dick thundered, standing and leaving the fillies once again.

_Fucking bitches_ the human mused.

* * *

**Legal note: Dick Malone, Codename: Evil, and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.**


	4. Chapter 4: On the Run

**Foreword: this chapter is shorter than usual, I think, but sets up some interesting things. You'll see what I mean.**

**And yeah, this chapter is late by about 7 hours. Late night work(read: playing video games) messes up my perception of time.**

* * *

**Chapter four**  
**On the run**

**December 15th, 2128**  
**Equestrian star system(unlisted)**  
**Outskirts of Ponyville**  
**Hero of the human race Dick Malone, AKA the Great Crusader**

_I can't believe they snuck up on me that easy; I'm losing my touch. Need to be more careful, next time it might not be harmless horses._

The grass crunched beneath Malone's boots as he entered the pony village, earning the typical fear-filled looks from the civilians. Ignoring them Dick found himself wondering why he was even in the town.

_Oh yeah, I'm trying to find that pegasus that seems to be trying to look like a gay pride flag_ the human thought as he came to a stop in the town square, looking around in search of the rainbow-haired Pegasus.

"Where the fuck is this bitch?" the Great Crusader wondered aloud, earning the attention of several ponies near him.

"Excuse me, are you looking for somepony?" one of the ponies asked, stepping up to the human. She was gray with blonde hair and a tattoo of bubbles on her ass.

_The fuck?_

Dick slowly looked down at her with his usual facial expression; anger and disdain.

"Who the hell are _you_?" the Great Crusader asked, his voice a little politer than usual; his tone was below 'go fuck yourself' but nowhere near 'who are you, dear?'

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Derpy Hooves" the gray mare answered.

"Yeaaahh, OK. Let's say I believe you when you say your name really is that; I'm looking for a Pegasus with rainbow hair, do you know her or not?" Malone said, eager to find the bitch and put her in her place.

"Oh, I think I know who you're talking about! Her name is Rainbow Dash and she lives on the east side of town... Or maybe it's the west side" the gray Pegasus stated thoughtfully.

"Oh God, does she live on the east or west side?" Malone inquired, quickly losing his patience. All he wanted to do was find the Pegasus and defeat her in fair combat.

_Though I'd probably be disallowed from killing or shooting her...damn shame_ the human mused, turning and walking away from the gray mare while she was in the middle of a sentence.

"Hey, wait!" the mare called out, with no response from the human.

For close to 30 minutes the human searched the town for the rainbow-haired Pegasus with no luck; it's like she disappeared or chickened out of the fight, which would be of no surprise to the Great Crusader.

He was, however, sidetracked by the purple Unicorn he had interacted with previously, who was calling for his attention from the other side of the road he was currently on.

"Jesus fuck, I thought I told you to not speak with me until you had developed space travel... Wait, did you develop space travel?" the human inquired.

"I did not. I did, however, hear that you viciously assaulted a little _filly_, one that I happen to know!" the Unicorn exclaimed.

"Shit; fuck me running, I don't have time for this; I told her and her friends several times to leave me alone and they did not comply. I did not intend to harm her, however, but I was not aware that she was the one behind me and combat instincts forced me to turn and strike her for she might've been a threat" Dick explained.

"I don't care; you assaulted her, dislocated and _broke_ her jaw; that is assault on a minor and I'm afraid I have to turn you in" the Unicorn told the human.

At this point Dick Malone got really pissed at the Unicorn, and in a different time and place he would've felt really bad for the Unicorn for the anger he was about to levy against her.

"_Excuse me_? I get shot down in your star system by an unknown enemy, possibly your species, crash on your disgusting planet, and are forced to interact with you and other locals and now you threaten to imprison me for an instinctual action? Fuck. You" Malone exclaimed.

"I told you already that we aren't the ones that shot down your ship! And our planet is most definitely _not_ disgusting, you jerk! And instinctual or not you dislocated and broke a filly's jaw; she's gonna need to wear a brace for weeks. You are clearly a danger to us and until we can get you off our planet I'm afraid we're going to have to ensure you won't be able to harm us" Twilight declared.

"I'm not being imprisoned for shit; go fuck yourself" the Great Crusader told the Unicorn, preparing to turn and leave. As he was about to though he saw the Unicorn's horn starting to glow and though he had not studied mystical equine varieties in high school he knew that a glowing Unicorn horn was bad news.

In a flash Malone had drawn his Saritch and swung it like a baseball bat, the stock connecting with her horn and cracking it, eliciting intense shrieks of pain from her. While she was down Dick smashed his boot down on her horn, cracking it further and rendering it useless until she sought medical attention.

Drawing his Python Dick aimed at the prone Unicorn and thumbed the hammer back, his finger tightening around the trigger as he prepared to kill her. The Unicorn appeared to be unconscious and blood was seeping out of her closed eyes.

_They cry blood? What the FUCK? Or maybe that just happens when their horns are broken_ Malone thought, staring into the Unicorn's face and gripping his Python tightly, somehow unable to pull the trigger.

"Go _fuck_ yourself, bitch" the Great Crusader growled, turning and leaving the scene, leaving the town before anyone else could come out to stop him.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Dick Malone had stopped walking, and he was in a clearing in the middle of a forest; it was pouring rain, soaking his clothes and hair. The human ran a hand through his hair and slicked it back.

Once again, he was alone; and as always being alone was bad for Dick Malone.

_"Dick, we'll always be friends. You're like a brother to me, and no matter what happens I'll always be by your side"_ the voice of Mark Calaway echoed in his head.

Pulling his head back until he was facing the sky the Great Crusader let the rain fall on his face, opening his mouth and letting the water fall in.

_"I love you..."_ his late wife's voice echoed.

"**FUCK!** God _DAMN_ it!" Malone screamed in fury, turning and punching a tree with his robotic arm, splintering the impact point. The voices of dead and lost loved ones had been plaguing him for weeks; Mark Calaway wasn't even dead and his voice was still haunting the Great Crusader.

_"I love you, sweetie. And nobody can ever take that from us"_ Tiffany's last words replayed like some kind of twisted audio recorder stuck in a loop.

At this point Malone collapsed to his knees and cried, holding his head in his hands and openly sobbing; he had been given a chance for peace, for retirement. A quiet place to settle down and live. He would've had to of dealt with the unknowns on the moon but after that he could've retired.

And he blew it.

_"It's OK, Dick. Don't cry"_ Tiffany's voice called out, too clear and close to be in his head.

Looking up the Great Crusader saw his dead wife standing before him, looking down at him with a smile. That pretty smile she always gave him when they weren't fighting Evil.

She faded, and Dick bent forward, propping himself up with a hand and covering his eyes with the other as the tears continued to fall, disguised by the rain like the mask of apathy he used to cover his suffering.

He was truly alone.

* * *

Waking the next morning in the clearing Malone found himself flat on his back, staring up at the morning sky, brightly lit by the sun. His silver Rolex told him it was 9:17 AM. Opting to just lie on his back for the moment Dick strangely found himself admiring the natural beauty; the trees, the grass, the smell of perfectly clean air, it was all so strange and alien to him, but it felt right somehow.

_Is it possible that industrialization and technology aren't always good? Technology makes life so much easier, though, and industries make it possible. Pollution isn't an issue for humanity any more thanks to technology... No, technology is always good. Industries may make pollution but technology can always eradicate negative side effects. Industry may not hold natural beauty but who cares when you can melt down a coffee maker and turn it into a handgun in your own living room?_

Satisfied that his beliefs were still correct the Great Crusader cleared his mind and closed his eyes, putting his hands behind his head and relaxing. Despite being stuck on an alien planet populated by talking horses he would still find the time to make the best of it and relax, despite how much of an alien concept it was to him now.

Faint humming caught the human's attention and he opened his eyes just in time to see a human stealth drop-ship soar overhead, being the ever popular CBT-9, or Colonial Bureau of Transit Model 9.

The CBT-9 was designed with one thing in mind; ultimate stealth. With a low heat emission thruster package, low noise thruster package, and radar-jamming technology the CBT-9 easily filled that role, and had been adopted for use by the SpERM.

There was just one problem; painted on the bottom of this particular CBT-9 were two yellow circles, side by side; not the emblem of SpERM.

_It's not a rescue party, that's for damn sure_ Malone thought, standing up and following the dropship in the direction it had flown off in.

It hadn't gone far, and in fact Dick found it had touched down in a massive field that was somewhere around the size of a football field. The ramp had dropped and a squad of humans in the all-too familiar dress of Spectrum agents had disembarked.

Spectrum was bad news for Dick Malone and his friends; founded during the Korean War Spectrum was a top-secret government agency tasked with handling covert and black operations, and eventually it became known for its top-tier agents which had been assigned codenames of emotions and personality traits, though a select few agents received numbers for codenames; those were truly the best of the best. Notable Spectrum agents were Codename: Violence, Codename: Zero, and Codename: Evil.

Malone's arch nemesis.

While it was true Evil had been Spectrum he had actually gone rogue to hunt down and kill Dick Malone, which was always his ulterior motive no matter what he was doing.

Though Evil was dead these soldiers still possessed a dropship with Evil's mark on it and had landed on the same planet the Great Crusader had, leading him to believe they were rogue agents that still followed Evil's beliefs and were looking for Dick, and had most likely come down from the moon.

Drawing out his binocs Malone took a look at them, the unit's mic picking up their chatter.

_"Thank God we got out of there, I'm starting to think that Evil is completely fucking insane. I mean, did you hear what he was saying? Spouting crap about furthering the goals of humanity and ensuring that we would complete our ascendance? He was also rambling on about Dick Malone and how he's here. You know, what's his beef with Malone anyway? It's not like the guy ever did anything to him"_ one of the soldiers declared.

_"I don't know, dude, but what I do know is that we've gotta find Dick Malone and warn him of what's about to happen. See if you can tap into any databases around here for mention of the guy"_ one of the other soldiers ordered.

Dick lowered the binocs and said "they're no longer with Evil? I don't know if I believe that, I better keep a very close eye on them."

_"Only database around here belongs to a SpERM ship, presumably Malone's. It's pretty far away from here, though, but I know exactly where it is"_ the first soldier stated.

_"Let's get moving then, eh?"_

_"Wait, I've downloaded the final recording from the bridge before all power cut to it, and I'm sure you'll want to hear this, Sir"_ the first soldier said, playing back the minutes before Dick Malone crashed onto the surface of the planet; his curses at those on the moon, the struggle to keep his ship operational, and the final descent onto the surface culminating in the death he suffered for two days.

When it finished the squad leader said _"Shit, sounds like he's dead. Is there anything else?"_

_"A recording from two days later; Malone had apparently survived and was attempting to contact the SpERM, though Evil had naturally jammed that signal"_ the data-pad soldier explained.

_"Great, let's get moving."_

Dick stowed his binocs and unslung his Saritch, preparing to follow these soldiers to see if they truly did hold good intentions for the Great Crusader.

* * *

"Move faster, I want that perimeter set up and patrols ready to move out by 0900! Set up the landing pads for the dropships and begin prep-work for the air-strip. Ops, mobilize a squad to set up the motion sensor poles 700 and 1400 meters out. And someone bring me my personal Trojan, I want to tour the area!"

"Yes, Sir!"

_You're out here somewhere, Samuel, and I will find you.  
_

* * *

**Author's note: I've been doing a lot of work lately, and I'll probably be going on Holiday sometime in the next few days. I mean, it IS the morning of December 24th when I'm posting this chapter! I need breaks too! Writing is very mentally challenging work, and it's physically taxing on your fingers!**

**Legal note: Dick Malone, Codename: Evil, and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.**


	5. Chapter 5: Captives

**Foreword: yeah, yeah, this chapter is late. I don't care; nobody's reading it.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**  
**Captives**

**December 16th, 2128**  
**Equestrian star system(unlisted)**  
**Royal City of Canterlot**  
**Unicorn Twilight Sparkle**

"And then he stomped on my horn, cracking it further and knocking me unconscious. When I came to he was gone; we have no idea where he is now" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed as she stood before Princess Celestia, explaining why the alien had run off and why her horn was in a bandage. To say Celestia was angry was an understatement; though the fury did not show on her face many ponies around Equestria could feel the heat rise up almost ten degrees as the sun flared.

"We must find him before he harms more subjects, and punish him for the one he already has" Princess Luna declared, looking rather angry herself.

"I concur. Twilight, I suggest you go home and get some rest. And lay off the magic, too, a damaged horn is bad news for a Unicorn. I will have the Royal Guard scour nearby areas and put out a bulletin across Equestria; we will find this alien and bring him to justice" Celestia assured her student.

"Thank you, Princess" Twilight replied, bowing and leaving their chambers atop Canterlot Tower. Once she had left Celestia turned to Luna and her voice went hush.

"We've been getting more and more reports of other aliens matching the general appearance of Mr. Malone being sighted far from established settlements. I'm beginning to fear Mr. Malone called them here for some kind of hostile takeover of our land. We must not let this come to be" Celestia whispered.

"I understand, sister. Shining Armor and the Guard are ready, and if these other aliens do wish to do harm to us they will be dealt with appropriately" Luna replied.

_We've never fought an alien force before...can the Guard truly be ready?  
_

* * *

"Sir, several settlements have been detected nearby, with the closest one being seven miles from here. Further recon has confirmed what the initial scans predicted; this land is populated by intelligent animals mostly of the equine variety, though specimens of other species have been captured and observed, including mythical creatures like Griffons and dragons resembling classical European dragons" a soldier explained to his boss, Codename: Fear, a Spectrum agent under the guide of Codename: Evil.

"Understood, gather one specimen of each gender for every specie you discover and bring them here for testing" Fear ordered, hopping in his personal transport, an M17 'Trojan' Light Ground Transport. The Trojan was a three-seater with a spot for the driver, a passenger, and the gunner in the back. Designed in 2079 and adopted by the SpERM in 2083 the Trojan was fast, tough, and made for fast attack and reconnaissance.

Starting the engine Fear rolled across the base to the air-strip and boarded a dropship and returned to space, landing in one of the hangar bays of the Evil War-Ship _Evil in the name of Good_, an ironic name if Fear had ever heard one.

Quickly being cleared through security Codename: Fear made his way through the three mile long vessel to the bridge, stepping aboard and greeting his commander, Codename: Evil, the life-long nemesis of Dick Malone.

"Welcome back, Fear. Have a fun incursion on the surface?" Evil inquired, turning to face the lesser-ranked agent with the holographic display of the planet silhouetting his suit. With his form shadowing the holograph the light's and glow of his yellow visor eyes made Evil look like a menacing specter.

Clad in a full-body armor suit Codename: Evil's identity was known to no one but himself and anyone who had access to his file at Spectrum HQ back on Earth, which was currently only one person; the director. Evil was a 130+ year veteran of the agency and though he had not killed more than 20 people he has killed a few HVT's, including Dick Malone's wife. Despite Evil going rogue to kill Dick Malone the agency had reinstated him when they learned Dick Malone planned to go public with the existence of the agency.

With complete access to Spectrum's constantly evolving armory Codename: Evil assured his higher-ups that Dick Malone would be swiftly dealt with.

That was 30 years ago.

Now Codename: Evil had been tracking the Great Crusader since the end of the American Civil War of 2056, hunting him to every corner of the globe and eventually into space at the end of Operation: Nightfall, a top-secret operation Malone undertook with the help of the British government to kill Evil as part of their revenge plan for him killing the director of MI6 under orders from Spectrum. When Nightfall had finished Malone assumed it was a victory, as he believed Evil was dead. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, and now the Spectrum agent was hunting him from the shadows.

"Have you got a fix on the crash site?" Evil asked, turning back to face the holographic display. A marker came up on the planet indicating where the remains of Malone's ship had fallen.

"Yes, Sir, I already deployed a team there to retrieve valuable information and equipment. They reported back with the black box and its final recording; it appears that Dick Malone died in the crash" Fear explained.

"Very good; keep a team in that area to make sure the crash site stays secure, we don't want any local sentients discovering it. Speaking of native life what have your cursory teams discovered?" Codename: Evil inquired.

"The following species have been observed and a specimen of both genders of each have been recovered; intelligent equine of the earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn varieties. Griffons and Dragons, as well as intelligent zebras. We managed to secure live specimens of the three equine varieties, though the Griffons and Dragon we observed had to be terminated before recovering the specimen."

"I want a live specimen of both genders of Dragon and Griffon returned to this ship as soon as possible, Fear. You may keep the live equine specimens in your base on the surface. You are dismissed" Evil stated, folding his hands behind his back.

"Yes, Sir!"

* * *

"I'm telling you, Applejack, Rainbow Dash is missing; she's not in her cloud home, she's not napping in your trees, she's not with anypony else, and she's nowhere to be seen in the skies. She's missing, and we need to find her" Twilight Sparkle stated as she walked alongside Applejack in the middle of Ponyville square.

"Ah will admit RD going and disappearing is mighty suspicious; first the alien attacks you and then RD is suddenly gone? It's a mite strange, sure, but maybe she went off in search of the alien?" Applejack suggested.

"Without telling us? No, something happened to her. Either Malone took her or something else did, but I'm sure he's involved in some way. You know the two did say they were going to have a fight, maybe he grabbed her and killed her..." Twilight trailed off, frightened at the prospect.

Immediately upon saying that however Applejack turned and put a hoof on her shoulder, saying "don't talk like that, Sugarcube. Ah'm sure RD is fine, where ever she is. With how that alien ran off he's shaping up to look like a coward."

"Maybe you're right, but I just can't shake the feeling that she's in danger right now" Twilight replied, staring off into the sky.

* * *

"The female specimen is in here, Sir" the guard outside the prison-like laboratory said as he and Codename: Fear approached, the guard stepping to the side by the door as the Spectrum agent entered, sealing the door behind him and stepping up to the thick glass separating him from the female specimen.

_"Get me OUT of here you freaks!"_ the captive yelled, pounding her hooves against the window; it was a one-way window, meaning that on her side all she was looking at was a mirror.

Keying the mic Fear said "hello, miss, my name is Codename: Fear. What is yours?"

_"Get bent, weirdo! Why don't you come in here and talk to me face to face?!"_

"Ooh, I'm afraid you wouldn't like that very much, miss" the agent replied, eyeing the specimen; she was of the Pegasus variety sporting a cyan blue coat and a rainbow mane and tail. There was a tattoo of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt on her flank.

_"Yeah? Why not?!"_ the Pegasus yelled.

"Because I would kill you, dear" Fear answered, his tone very clear that he would do exactly that. Despite the appearance on her face suggesting she wasn't intimidated the look in her eyes proved she was afraid of what the Spectrum agent had just said. "Now, are you going to cooperate or am I going to have to make good on that threat?"

_"F-fine! I'll answer what you want to know, but only if I can! I don't know everything, I'm not some egghead!"_ the Pegasus declared.

"Excellent. Now, let us begin."

* * *

"And that was the last of the questions, Sir. She was not very cooperative when asked about the leaders of this land. I was forced to beat the answers of her, with no permanent damage, though her snapped left foreleg will require medical care" Fear said to the hologram of Codename: Evil, finishing recounting to him the interrogation he had with the lovely Ms. Rainbow Dash.

_"Did you get the answers you sought?"_ Codename: Evil asked.

"I did; the leaders are Princesses Celestia and Luna, and they reside in Canterlot Tower in the royal city named such. She also mentioned something about the Elements of Harmony, which to my estimation seem to be weapons of some sort" the lower-rank agent answered.

_"Excellent work, Fear. You may begin your experiments upon her when ready"_ Evil replied.

"One more thing, Sir. She mentioned something I was not expecting; she yelled that Malone was going to pay for what I had done to her. It seems the Great Crusader is still alive" Fear explained.

_"I see...this is unexpected news, but we will continue as normal. Begin a proper search across this land, and as I said, you may begin your experiments upon her."_

"With respect, I do not believe that will be necessary; she was more than happy to give me a hands-on inspection of her anatomy" the lesser-ranked agent stated with a leer.

_"You didn't sexually assault her, did you? That would be most unsatisfactory, Codename: Fear"_ Evil said, looking down upon the lesser agent.

"Of course not, Sir. It was as I said; hands-on, that is all. She obviously did not like my hand probing her but the threat of proper violation was more than enough to get her to cooperate."

_"Very good, Fear. I have no further instructions for you; do with the female specimen as you wish, and begin interrogating the male specimen"_ Evil stated.

"Yes, Sir" Codename: Fear responded, terminating the connection and turning to face the male equine contained within the same kind of cell that the female was, looking around at the blank walls and staring into the mirror-side of the one-way window. His coat was black and his flank sported a tattoo of cloud and a normal lighting bolt

Keying the mic Fear said "hello, Sir, my name is Codename: Fear. What is yours?"

* * *

**Legal note: Dick Malone, Codename: Evil, and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. The Dick Malone universe belongs to me.**


End file.
